Bidspirit auction | Pair of Guna Nuchu Carved

Pair of Guna Nuchu Carved Wood Medicine Figures - Panama (Guna Yala), circa 1990s 10.25 inches, 8.75 inches Two carved hand-hewn wooden nuchu or uchu medicine dolls, each executed in a boldly simplified post-and-lintel style with columnar bodies and integral circular bases. The taller figure (10.25 inches) wears a wide flat-topped headdress whose lower edge is decorated with a row of crisply incised sawtooth chevrons; the face has a single ridged nose, small black bead-inset eyes, and a V-shaped carved collar defining the shoulders and torso. The shorter figure (8.75 inches) wears a tall brimmed top-hat-form headdress over a narrow rectangular face with drilled pupils, a prominent nose, and a tie descending from the chin onto the chest; small incised hands or feet are defined at the lower edge. Both figures retain pale, freshly worked surfaces with minimal weathering. Nuchukana are sacred spirit figures carved from specific woods and called upon by Guna neles (shamans/medicine people) to house helper spirits who assist in healing ceremonies and protective rituals. Provenance: From the Parker & Neal Collection.